ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Eclipse by Keiichiro Hirano
Date
Monday 13 January 2025
Time
7.00pm (GMT)
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Booking Details
Online meeting on Zoom
Please register for the meeting in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive a automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).
Free for members of The Japan Society
Book available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Waterstones (translated by Brent de Chene and Charles De Wolf)
Japanese version available here
Please help us to keep this event free and open to all!The Japan Society is a charity and its activities are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!   |
Set in late 15th-century Europe, Eclipse follows a young Dominican friar traveling from Paris to Florence in search of pre-Christian manuscripts. His encounter with an ascetic alchemist draws him into a quest for enlightenment, disrupted by disasters culminating in a solar eclipse. Written as a memoir, the novel blends historical detail, medieval alchemical lore, and philosophical depth, challenging rigid worldviews. Originally published in 1998, Eclipse earned Hirano, then a 23 year-old undergraduate, the Akutagawa Prize, establishing him as a literary prodigy.
Keiichiro Hirano (1975-), born in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture, is a celebrated Japanese novelist known for his philosophical depth and literary sophistication. Hirano’s works often explore identity, duality, and existential themes, blending historical and contemporary settings. His notable novels include A Man and At the End of the Matinee. In addition to fiction, he writes essays and critiques, frequently engaging with modern social issues.
If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.